1. Time running short. With Wednesday's rainout on top of the first-week schedule already being condensed compared to previous years, teams will be scrambling to get their work done. So expect a lot of traffic on the racetrack.

2. Quieter for fans. If this is your first time at an IndyCar event this year, you'll notice a change in the volume. The series has mandated a new muffler and header package on their engines to reduce the noise.

3. Look for tows. Keep in mind the speed charts can be misleading because two cars together run faster than one alone. So to identify pole contenders, look for cars running fast by themselves.

-- Steve Ballard

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Team owner Roger Penske couldn't wait to tell Helio Castroneves that Paul Tracy has been "whining" about losing the 2002 Indianapolis 500, but Castroneves wanted no part of the playful banter on a soggy Wednesday.

"Let him talk," a smiling Castroneves said as he crossed paths with his boss for the first time this month at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. "Let him talk."

The Brazilian isn't dwelling on the past.

Not on the contested finish to the race held here seven years ago when Castroneves was ultimately determined to be in front of Tracy when the caution light came on during the 199th lap of that controversial race.

Not about the more recent events that put him in the national spotlight when he was acquitted of federal tax evasion charges in Florida last month.

And not about his first two races this year, a seventh-place finish at Long Beach and a second at Kansas after his legal situation forced him to sit out the season opener at St. Petersburg.

The excitement of being back in Indy to drive a race car is evident in Castroneves' step, his face, even his luggage. The Miami-area resident packed enough clothes to spend the rest of the month in Indy, something he never did in eight previous trips.

"It's like, I'm not leaving," he said as rain washed out Wednesday's full-field opening practice. "Normally, I'm thinking about (practicing) the first week, taking two or three days off and going home, but I wasn't thinking about any of that this time.

"I'm here, and I'm staying."

Castroneves appears to have found personal enlightenment in the face of multiple federal charges that included his older sister, Kati. Charges were filed in October, giving the already close siblings many months to forge an even tighter bond.

"The worst thing was in the mornings, waiting around," he said. "I was always thinking, 'What's going to be next? What's the outcome of today?'

"I wasn't thinking about next hour, next day. It was like thinking about the moment. It was very stressful."

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One conspiracy indictment is still to be resolved, but Castroneves said he is not focusing on that now.

"The only thing I know is that they told me to pack my bags, go race and do what I know to do," he said. "The rest is the attorney's job."

Penske sounded more like a father after spending time Wednesday with Castroneves, who turns 34 on Sunday.

"I told him, this is a real opportunity for him," Penske said. "Not just personally, but to show what he can do (in a race car).

"I think he's highly motivated for this month. You can see it."

Castroneves, who is seeking his third 500 victory, conceded he's still on the road to recovery.

He lost 13 pounds during the trial and has only gained three or four back. He said he does not feel as strong as he would like. Exercise hadn't been a priority during the time away from the track, which explains why a 1-hour run on Monday was short by his standards.

"I still don't want to rush that," he said. "I don't want to injure myself. I have to be careful."

Castroneves said his sleeping habits are off, too. He routinely wakes at 6 a.m., although the fear of legal conviction has passed.

"But it's like I have somewhere to go, which I did every day during the trial," he said. "I need to ask the doctor why I'm not sleeping, but I know for seven or eight weeks I just didn't have time to relax."

Castroneves arrived in Indianapolis on Tuesday morning and said he has not done much more than settle in and wait out the rain. But he said he has found himself noticing how some veteran drivers are already bored by the mundane aspects of the 500. He is not.

"I'm like, I'm so glad I'm going to this place or that place," he said. "Every small detail, because it's habit, you don't appreciate it. But I appreciate it, now more than ever."

Servia, Bell updates

Oriol Servia is expected to be confirmed today as the driver of the No. 17 car for Rahal Letterman Racing. . . . Townsend Bell is due to be the driver of KV Racing Technology's No. 8 car.